Hi, This page is of the Bride Doll I did for Cathie. Cathie ordered this doll for her daughters upcoming wedding. She wanted me to take her mother’s 60+ year old wedding dress and use it to make the same onto her Daughter’s childhood Babydoll. She found me online, and she told me all her friends thought she was crazy to trust her mothers wedding dress to someone she had never met, but she said, after the emails, that she felt she could trust me. I felt honored! Although, I have to admit, I was terrified to actually cut into that dress the 1st time! I must have sent her a dozen emails to confirm she actually wanted me to cut it up! LOL But, she assured me even her mother was ok with it! 🙂 Well…here is the dress she sent me:
Like I said, I was nervous, but I started in on it as you can see!
She had contacted me almost a year before the wedding, which was awesome! I like to have as much time as possible so I am not rushed, and just in case something comes up unexpectedly. Seems something always does! LOL
Anyway, here are some of the things she had to say in the correspondence we had back and forth over the weeks:
–“I am the woman who has her mothers wedding gown and an American girl doll to have it made for. I did send you tons of pictures of the dress.”
–“I am so excited that you remembered me and I think I am as excited over this doll as I am my daughters wedding dress. Yes, there is a beautiful veil with this and it is in very good condition along with the little pearls on the top of it.”
–“Thanks so much for the update on the dress and doll. I mailed that with pains in my heart hoping it would get to you in one piece and not lost in the mail! Your email made me feel so good that she was in good hands and that you realize just how special all of this is to me. You surely are the right person to do this piece of memorabilia for my daughters wedding because you have a lot of emotion behind what you do and I love it!”
The picture on the right is of Cathie and her lovely mother! Thanks so much for letting me be a part of this surprise! It truly was a great experience!!
I sent her pictures and updates every step of the way so she could see how the doll was coming along. Here is more of what she had to say in those emails:
–“On my way to a meeting but just wanted to thank you for the update and so glad that everything arrived safe and sound. Take your time with the doll and the dress…no hurry on my end which is why I sent it to you so early. I know those items are in good and loving hands!”
–“It is over 62 years old and had never been preserved.”
–“So glad you liked the idea of having my daughters bride doll made from her Grandmothers bridal gown and a doll she loved when she was little.”
–“You absolutely amaze me…..you made buttons out of clay??? That is an incredible idea and they look gorgeous! OMG…I was so excited to see how beautiful this dress looked with those buttons…and those little loop fasteners are done so delicately and just so beautiful! I Love it….just beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!! You certainly take each doll to heart when you work on it and just provide such an incredible and exciting experience for me with your love and caring. Thank you so very much! I just can’t wait to get her!”
Thank you Cathie for all the kind words! It was my pleasure to help make this surprise come true! The above pictures show more of the finished Doll, along with a picture of Cathie’s beautiful daughter
-“All I kept thinking is that I could not wait to get home and look at those pictures again. I was so excited when you sent them to me this afternoon! She is just so beautiful and that dress looks exactly like my mothers bridal gown….just so gorgeous and it will be something in our family for many years and so very treasured. And I have saved all your emails to share with my daughter and have printed them out….they will go along with the doll and all the pictures you sent me so everyone can see what a joy this was for me to do and how much you enjoyed doing it! Really Tamara….this has been a very special experience for me and I have to thank you again for making it so very special! When I first contacted you and told my friends what I was doing they could not believe I was sending my mothers wedding dress and my daughters favorite doll to an unknown person across the country! But, I told them not to worry…you can tell a lot about a person just from the way they correspond with you and I had every confidence that it would be a good experience…..I never thought it would be this great! I feel as though I have gained a friend during all of this and someone who felt this project was as special to them as it was to me. You are an incredibly kind and generous person Tamara.”
–“I have to say that as excited as I am to receive this masterpiece I am a little bit sad that it is coming to an end. I have really enjoyed every email that you have sent to me along the way and the excitement of opening up your emails and viewing the pictures! You have provided me with a very cherished experience Tamara….you are not only a very talented woman but a very kind and caring person and I can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed this!! Thank you for making this special moment for me in my daughters wedding. If you ever need a reference for a client or decide to put a testimonial page on your site let me know….I would be more than happy to let anyone know how wonderful your work is and how terrific you are to work with.”
Thank you! I think you just gave me that testimonial! LOL You’re a gem Cathie! Thank you!
The above pictures are of Cathie and her beautiful daughter at her Bridal Shower where Cathie showed off her big surprise! Here is the email she send along with these pictures:
–“Well, I have to thank you for making me be able to give one of the greatest gifts to my daughter at her shower on Saturday. The doll was the talk of the shower and people were just amazed at the work that you did….no one could believe you took a gown that was 66 years old and did such a beautiful gown which was an exact replica of my mothers gown! I only wish you could have been there to enjoy all the lovely remarks on your beautiful work. Emily was beside herself when she saw the doll an then realized it was made from her grandmothers wedding gown…she began to cry – hugged me so tight n then did the same to her grandmother…it was a remarkable moment that I will never forget! She really set the tone of the bridal shower…this shower was not about what gifts you get…but rather one of love and a mothers emotions for her daughter at such a special time in her life.
Thank you again Tamara for such a special gift….she was just incredible and I was so happy to display her and tell the unique story of my lovely friend Tamara who I met on the internet!”
Thanks so very much Cathie! You are a very special person!!
I hope you enjoyed the journey I described on this page. Each doll leaves with a little bit of my heart attached to it as well as, as much detail as I can manage! I try and put all the love and attention to detail into each one that I would put into my very own Bride Doll! I want each to be as perfect as possible and as close to the real thing as I can get! I tried to used even the seams of the original dress on the Doll, so the seams were the same. I had to remake the buttons, as they were too big, but I managed to take apart the ‘lace’ on the bodice and re-work it into miniature onto the dress, so at least the materials were the same! I think I did well?!? 🙂 I’ll let you decide! LOL
Thanks for stopping by! If you would like to visit my home site, please just click on the link below:
http://www.tamarastrinkets.com
Or you can contact me at tamarastrinkets@tamarastrinkets.com
Have a great day!
Thanks much,
Tamara
